Adjustable spraying apparatus



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ADJUSTABLE SPRAYING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 28, 1946 4 Sheets-sheaf 4 Patented May 8, 1951 UNHTED STATES ihhTENT @FFHCE ADJUSTABLE SPRAYING APPARATUS Maurice Copley, Metropolis, Ill.

Application October 28, 1946, Serial No. 706,128

4 Claims. 1%

My invention relates to devices, or equipment adapted for spraying trees, as well as row crops, and primarily comprised of a liquid spray tank, mounted on a suitably propelled Vehicle, having mounted in association therewith, a sprayer head which of such a construction as to permit the said spraying head to be manually operated in a horizontal plane, over a certain fixed, and definite angular range, the said spraying head being also connected to driving means through suitable differential gearing, to permit the said spraying head to be adjustably positioned in varied angular positions in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the spraying operation, or manipulation.

An important object of my invention is to provide a spraying head. of the aforementioned character, which is made up of arcuately formed pipe structure, equipped with intermediately positioned and alternately connected pipe connectors, each equipped with a multiplicity of spra ing nozzles, the said spraying head being adapted, by virtue of a propeller or fan mounted rearwardly thereof, to spray and create a continuous fog, or mist of spraying liquid to cover tree, or row crops thoroughly from all sides, thus permitting the spraying insecticide to cover thoroughly all portions of fruit, leafage, branches, and other elements of plant life, so as to prevent attack from animal and pest life which effectively destroy the crops of such plants and trees.

A further object or" my invention is to provide a device, or machine of the aforementioned character which is equipped with its own motive power for operating the pumping equipment associated therewith, so as to create a most eifective spray, or mist in the actual operation of the device.

A further object or my invention is to provide a secondary manipulative control, which may be actuated by an operator who is positioned on the chassis in the space intermediate the control lever 75 and the spray head Ml.

A further object of my invention is to provide slightly modified spray head structure, in which two arcuate baflles are positioned centrally and longitudinally within the confines of the spray head nozzles, in order to deflect the spray sidewise, and cause no spray to flow from the central portion thereof; the said arrangement being particularly adaptable when spraying sides of adjacent trees, so as to conserve, rather than waste, the spraying liquid, or solution.

A further object of my invention is to provide,

in a spray head of the aforementioned character, a fan, or propeller construction, which will aid in forcing and dissipating the spray, or mist emanating from the nozzles of the said spray head so as to more effectively distribute the spray liquid over the plant life, which is being sprayed.

A further object of my invention is to provide pumping unit, which is connected to three ranches or spray sections, comprising the said y so that they may all be operating n concert, or selectively in various permutaand combinations thereof, by suitable valve control structure.

A for her object of my invention is to provide spray head, which can be set to various angular positions in a horizontal plane, without app cciably afiecting the horizontal, or the relay right angular manipulation thereof in n or fixed angular orbits.

r features, and objects inherent in my on will become apparent from an examion of the accompanying drawings, bearing further reference thereto in the ensuing description, wherein like symbols are used to designate, or denote like parts, and in which,

Fig. 1 is a front view of my invention, showing an operator in position, seated on a tractor, and having one of his hands engaging the manipulating lever for operation of the spraying head,

39 in a horizontal manner.

2 is a top view of Fig. 1, orientated 180, in to clearly indicate the range of the spraying head in a substantially horizontal plane of operation.

5 Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the rear portion of the trailer, on which my invention is mounted, showing the spraying head adjusted to an angular position with respect to the fixed adjustment, it is susceptible of being set to, in a vertical plane.

Fig. 4 is a front view of a spray head, slightly modified, to include centrally connected, or removably attachable arcuate deflectors, or wings, in order to divert the spray sidewise, and maintain the central portion of the head free from any spraying action.

Fig. 5 is a view, taken substantially, on the lines 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a front view of a slightly modified form of spray equipment, having associated therewith independent motive power means, for operating the pumping head, or pump structure thereof.

Fig. 7 is an end view of the spray head, showing various angular positions thereof in phantom, and showing its range of adjustment angu 3 larly, preparatory to the reciprocal manipulation thereof in a horizontal manner.

Fig. 8 is a schematic view showing the spraying nozzles creating lines of forced spray, or mist in order to completely cover all portions of foliage and crops, or the fruit of a tree, or other plant life.

Referring to the various views, my invention is generally designated if), and consists of a trailer chassis H, mounted on suitable traction wheels l2, the said chassis being provided with a hitching post i3 for securing thereto the hitching element l4 of a tractor generally designated I5. The tractor is, as usual, provided with a seat l8 on which the driver H is seated.

The power take-off 9'! on the tractor is connected through universal joint, to the power shaft H), which is housed in suitable bearings I8, as indicated.

On the chassis, I also mount a tank, or container made of wood, or other material designated 2|], and held firmly in assemblage to the chassis by virtue of the hoop-like straps 2| firmly anchored, and secured at 22.

The tank is provided with a capped filler opening 37, and an outlet valve 38, which in turn is connected to the spraying head pumping unit 42 by means of the flexible hose connection 39.

The spraying head 40 is manipulated by means of the lever 25, or the lever 68 in the direction of the arrows indicated. The structure for manipulating and translating the motion of the lever 28, consists of an upright shaft 21, which is mounted in suitable bearings secured to the bearing support 24 which, in turn is mounted on a suitable mounting block 23 secured to one end of the tank 25.

The shaft 2! is also provided with an articulate connection secured to the extension 98, so as to articulately be motivated thereupon, whenever it is desired to adjust the head 48, to various angular positions, of which it is capable of setting, in a plane substantially perpendicular to the plane of operation afforded by the lever 25.

The shaft 2': is connected to a link 26, there being a companion link 3-3, the two being articulately connected by virtue of the tie-rods 3i) and 29, having pivotable fastening elements Si and 32, 35, and 35, forming a parallelogramznic arrangement for balanced actuation of the spray head, generally designated Companion link 33 is pivotably mounted on upright shaft 34 attached to lever 63, see Fig. 1.

The spray head 45 is mounted suitably by struts 63 and 95 attached between the said spray head 48 and the disc-like structures 65 and '10 which are rotatably mounted on upright drive means 98, struts E2 rigidly connecting the housing of upright shaft 98 to cradle structure 13. The structure 53 is pivoted and held on the axis i l by bolts as which are anchored to angles IE8 attached to chassis II. To the power shaft i9 is connected the upright drive means 98, having intermediately disposed differential gear boxes 85, and 66 so as to permit the various adjustments to be made, without impairing the oscillating operation of the head when it is manipulated within the arcuate, or angular range defined therefor. The gear box 55 is supported on the cradle 13, see Fig. 7.

The upright drive connection motivates the pumping unit 42 from which the liquid is disseminated, or fed into one, two, or three branches of the arrangement, or construction, each branch being adapted for connection to the different portions of the spraying head nozzle construction. The pumping unit 42 is secured to the spray head it! and supported by pipe branches .3, 44 and 45.

The spraying head is generally designated 40, and is comprised of a housing 4|, to which is suitably secured the pumping unit 42, branching off to the three branches 43, 44, and 45, each equipped with suitable control valves 46, the branch 44 being connected to an arcuately shaped piping structure 4'5, the branch 45 being connected to the branch 5|, whereas the branch 53 is connected to the three pipes 56, running crosswise of the arcuate pipe structures 41 and 5|. The pipes 56 are suitably capped at each end by caps 57, and are each provided with a multiplicity of nozzles 58, the said pipes being inter-connected by suitable crosses and a T 59, thus forming one section of the spraying head, which may be caused to operate independently of the remainder of the spraying head. The spray head 49 is shielded by two adjustable aprons or shields 26 secured to the housing 4|.

The arcuate pipe structure 4'1 is provided with a number of Ts 48 connected to a number of pipes 49, having nozzles 50 and being capped at the opposite end, the arcuate pipe structure 5| being likewise equipped with pipes 53, connected through Ts 52 being suitably capped and provided with nozzles 54.

It is to be noted that the housing 4| of the spraying head, which comprises the main supporting structure thereof, is open at the bottom, and has a guard section 6|, so as to facilitate making the upright driving connection, and at the same time protect the tips of the blades of the propeller 72, which is rotatably connected behind the spraying head for reasons which will be elucidated hereinafter. The propeller 12 is connected through a shaft to gear box 66, see Fig. 3.

The manipulative control 68 is secured to a disc-like structure 65, and there is a companion angular structure 7| secured to a mating disc ?8 thereabout, which are in turn, connected by articulate linkage 95, 63, and G4 so as to perform the translation of angular motion from the auxiliary manipulating handle 68 to the head generally designated 48. The angular structure H is secured to the handle 68 by virtue of the connecting shaft 6?.

In Figs. 4 and 5, I indicate how the spraying head may be slightly modified by showing a defiector structure 92 and 93, at the central portion thereof, in order to permit deflection, and concentration of the spray laterally or sidewise thereof, to prevent spraying within the central range of the said spraying head. An attachment which may be utilized, particularly, when spraying trees so as to spray sides of adjacent trees, without throwing the mist in between the trees, or into empty space consequently wasting the same, thus making for a more economical utilization of the insecticide, or spraying solution.

The angular setting, or fixed adjustment may be eiiectuated by means of the lever 15 (see Fig. '7) which is provided with a locking control :6, connected integrally to the hinged plate iii, in turn articulately secured at 82, and connected by virtue of the connecting rod 83 to a dog or tooth 18 which is urged by spring T? in looking engagement with any one of the notches T9, or in the arcuate horse-shoe-shaped locking section 9| which is fixedly secured to the chassis H of the trailer.

The phantom, or dotted lines show the manipulations of the lever to any of a number of fixed positions, depending on the notches l9, and 89, aside from the independent manipulative control through levers 63or 26, that is afforded when actual spraying operation takes place.

In Fig. 6, I show a trailer structure w rich is provided with an independent power plant 88 suitably hooded at 89, for connection through the drive shaft 94, and through the universal joint 99 to the upright drive 98 comprised of the various difierential gearing structures, heretofore 1nentioned to the pumping connection 42, so as to provide sufiicient motivating power to the pressure pump 42, for a more efiioient spraying action, not necessarily relying on the power of the tractor which is to pull the trailer structure along as the spraying operation is being performed.

In Fig. 8 I show a schematic diagram indicating one of the spraying nozzle sections 4?, showing how the branches of a tree 85 are covered by the mist, or spray 84 on all sides-Bi at the top, and 81 at the bottom thereof, thus making for a complete coverage, and eliminating the necessity of over-spraying, and dripping resulting therefrom, which hence efiectuates an economy, rather than a waste of the spraying liquid being used.

In looking at Fig. 3 it can be seen that the head is set at an angle, and the valves 95 in all of the branches are open. A complete spray is effectuated which encompasses almost 180, in a vertical plane or sections thereof may be utilized by shutting the respective valves 46, shutting off the flow to the branches 43, 44 and 45, and subsequently to the sections 41, or 5i, or 56, depending on what is desired, or for any permutations or combinations of the said sections by the proper opening and shutting of as many valves 46, as are desired.

The device, or equipment is very simple to operate, the tank is filled with a suitable quantity of liquid and capped, the exhaust valve thereof 38 is opened, causing the liquid to be drawn off through the piping 39, by the pumping unit 42, which is driven either through the drive shaft 19, or 94, causing suificient liquid to be passed through the branches 43, 44, and 45, in turn causing a spray to emanate from the nozzles 59, 58, 53, and 54.

The device may be set in any angular position as shown in Fig. 3, for row crops, or crops close to the ground, whereas it may be set in a suitable angular position as shown in Fig. 1 for spraying in an upward direction, towards the top, or the foliage, and the fruit growing on trees.

It is to be noted that my device is susceptible of adjustment so that the manipulative operation, which is defined in an arcuate orbit, is also positionable to various angular positions in a plane at right angles thereto. This affords a great deal of flexibility so that one single equipment may be used for row crops, for trees, or for any other plant life that is grown, and requires spraying.

I believe, I have herein described rather succinctly, the nature, the operation, and the construction of my invention, and inasmuch as the same is susceptible to various modifications, alterations, and improvements I hereby reserve the right to all such modifications, alterations, and improvements coming within the scope and spirit of my invention, as well as all those that are impliably suggested and embraced in the accompanying drawings, also all those that may fall within the purview of the foregoing description, my invention to be limited only to the appended claims.

Having thus described and revealed my invention, what I claim as novel and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In an apparatus of the character described, a spray-head, means for adjusting fixedly the said spray-head in varied angular positions in a vertical plane, and parallelogrammic manipulative means provided with laterals articulately connected to the said spray-head for oscillating the said spray-head in a plane substantially at right angles to the said vertical plane.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, a spray-head, means for adjusting fixedly the said spray-head in varied angular positions in a vertical plane, parallelogrammic manipulative means provided with laterals articulately connected to the said spray-head for oscillating the said spray-head in a plane substantially at right angles to the said vertical plane, and hollow partially conical apron means composed of two complementary sections each secured adjustably to the sides of the said spray-head for varying the lateral confines of the mist to be sprayed.

3. In an apparatus of the character described. a spray-head, means for adjusting fixedly the said spray-head in varied angular positions in a vertical plane, parallelogrammic manipulative means provided with laterals articulately connected to the said spray-head for oscillating the said spray-head in a plane substantially at right angles to the said vertical plane, and deflector means secured at the central portion of the said central spray-head to provide concentration of the spray laterally and prevent spraying within the central range of the said spray-head.

4. In an apparatus of the character described, a spray-head, means for adjusting fixedly the said spray-head in varied angular positions in a vertical plane, parallelogrammic manipulative means provided with laterals articulately connected to the said spray-head for oscillating the said spray-head in a plane substantially at right ,angles to the said vertical plane, hollow partially conical apron means composed of two complementary sections each secured adjustably to the sides of the said spray unit for varying the lateral confines of the mist to be sprayed, and deflector means secured at the central portion of the said spray-head to provide concentration of the spray laterally and prevent spraying within the central range of the said spray-head.

MAURICE COPLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,238,120 Launder Apr. 15, 1941 2,310,895 Brown Feb. 9, 1943 2,331,107 Daugherty Oct. 5, 1943 2,374,955 Raper May '1, 1945 2,432,309 Gore Dec. 9, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 350,936 Great Britain June 15, 1931 

